Samsara
by Saito Uzumaki
Summary: The repeat, cycle of birth, life and death. That is Samsara. His vision sees the world for what it really is, and he won't let no animal, no human, demon nor god get in the way of his goal. Naruto Uzumaki is on the path he created for himself, his own hand carved destiny. Fem!Sasu/Juri/Shizu
1. Burning of the leaves

**Chapter One: Burning of the leaves**

The village of Konohagakure was having a peaceful night. And if one old enough was asked when the last time such a night like this occurred, they would have to say, minutes before the Kyuubi attack, 21 years ago.

Many bright stars were glistening and sparking in the dark night sky. But nothing was brighter, than the full moon it's self. To most of the older generation, who dealt and knew the truth of the Kyuubi, it was eerily similar to that night…21 years ago.

And thought night had come upon the village, the villagers were still bustling around, as if it was daytime. Oddly enough, it was the marked day of the Kyuubi attack, October 10th; which meant the annual festival was taking place.

Young children ran across the street in Kimono's playing ninja; adolescents and teenagers were hanging with their friends, either on dates or just chillin. Adults mingled and conversed with each other, some having a few drinks, others trying to get laid, and a few more others watching over their excited children.

The Shinobi of the Anbu blackops remained in the shadows of the village, silently watching over the festivities to make sure no fights or anything of the sort broke out. And there were even more Anbu out on patrol, considering what night it was. It wasn't uncommon to get reports of raping or theft during the night, as people usually took advantage during this night.

Off duty Shinobi were also within the festival, relaxing, yet still on guard, ready for anything.

Now our attention rests with the Konoha ten, it used to be 12 but two members of the group had went down their own path which distanced them from the other ten. Among these nine, were the once genin, now Jounin of Teams 10, 9, and 8. However one of the members from team 8 was absent, but the only member from team 7 was present instead.

Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikmaru, Akimichi Chouji, Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee, TenTen and Haruno Sakura were all in a large restaurant booth for something to eat before they explored for fun.

The current topic, was the missing of Neji's younger cousin, Hyuuga Hinata. It was actually Sakura who asked either Kiba or Neji, considering that one was the woman's cousin and the other was her fiancée.

"I don't know, I just figured she would meet up with us," Kiba shrugged as he leaned back a bit. Neji gave a reply, sitting next to Tenten who was looking at the menu closely.

"Hinata-sama is on her way. She felt a little uneasy earlier today, but promised to meet up with us later," Neji told them. They all nodded in understanding before Lee gave a big grin and stood up from his seat.

"Isn't this great my friends?! It has been awhile since we have all been together at once, even though Hinata-chan is not with us at the moment. But once she is, it will be better!" Lee cheered. Ino just gave a soft giggle while Shikamaru gave a troublesome, the other just gave small smiles, except for Sakura.

The group's appearances hadn't really changed at all since they were Chunin. Shikamaru had some stubble on his face, growing a beard; Chouji had lost _some_ weight, but considered quite hefty; Ino looked the same period, except with even more womanly curves;

TenTen had let go of her buns, preferring long hair considering she was now on maternity leave, since she was bearing Neji's child. Kiba looked the same as well, though he had a short beard on his chin. You couldn't really tell with Shino since he was always covered up from head to toe. Neji also hadn't changed much, Lee along the same lines.

Sakura had grown her hair out again, it now being to her mid back, two bangs framing the side of her face, similar to a…old friend she knew. Body wise, she hadn't changed much either, though had gained a bit of curves to her body.

Ino was the first to notice her best friends mood and asked her what was wrong. Sakura gave a sigh, brushing back her bang behind her ear. A frown still on her lips.

"I visited Sayuri today," was what she got out her mouth, just before everyone in the booth gave her hard glares…even Lee. Sakura knew they were glaring at her, even though she didn't look up from the table.

"Why would you visit that bitch after what she did?" Kiba growled, and when he said bitch…he meant it as an insult. Usually it was pretty normal for him to refer women as bitches since he was from a clan of dogs.

"I agree with Kiba, what is wrong with you?" Ino wondered, though her glare was less harsh than the others. Sakura finally looked up from the table, giving her own glare at everyone, though it was filled with irritation.

"Nothing is wrong with me. You guys forget, that Sayuri is human as well. Which means she has feelings and emotions of her own," Sakura told them. Kiba didn't seem to agree with that, as he scowled at her.

"That bitch is not human, because she does not have any feelings. No compassion or anything else! She is the reason why we haven't talked or spent time together like we used too! Apparently you forgot what she did!" Kiba growled at her.

"I did not forget what she did! Every time I visit her, I'm always reminded of what she did! Every time I look at that damn monument, I always remember what she did! What she has done to this village, to our circle, to me, will _never_ be forgotten," Sakura argued.

"You both need to calm down, you are causing a scene," Neji told them with his stoic expression and calm yet cold tone. Shikamaru nodded in agreement, which caused Kiba to sit back down with a scowl and Sakura to look away with her own small scowl.

"Now, what happened when you visited…her?" Shikamaru asked, going back to the reason why Sakura was more down than usual. The pink headed woman just closed her eyes, relieving a heavy sigh to calm herself.

"I went to see her, to see how she was doing. Not too good…at all. When I usually see her she just looks at me with that blank stare and gives one worded answers with a bored tone. She didn't even look at me today, focused on something totally different. After half an hour or so of trying to get her to talk, she told me to go away, before leaving herself," Sakura explained.

"I don't see what the problem is, Sayuri has always been Anti-social," Chouji shrugged, Sakura shook her head in response.

"Yes, but this time it was different. It was as if…she was…sad and angry. I don't know why though. But she did ask me if I went to the memorial today, and my answer was I just came back from it. That was it," Sakura finished just before the waiter came to take their orders.

No more talk about Sayuri was had, as the group silently enjoyed their time together.

* * *

"Are you sure Tsunade-sama? I have no problem with it," Kato Shizune informed with a frown. She stood to the side of the Godaime Hokage's desk, watching the woman work diligently and silently.

"I'm fine Shizune. Go ahead and enjoy the rest of your night. I'll be here when you come in the morning, don't worry," Tsunade told the woman. Shizune frowned deeper but nodded. Giving a bow, she left the Hokage to her work.

A few minutes after the door was closed, droplets of liquid fell on the paper Tsunade was working on. The woman was sobbing silently, allowing the tears to fall from her eyes. She sniffed, leaning up and wiped her eyes. With a turn of the chair, she faced the window, looking over her grandfather's creation.

The woman gazed blankly at the village she swore to protect as the Hokage. But at the moment, she wasn't feeling the love she usually had for her village. And that was because of the annual festival. How the people of Konoha celebrated the fall of their hero, made her a bit angry.

She wasn't talking about Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage. The woman was referring to the young boy that brought her back to the village, the boy that turned into a great Shinobi and that was to be Hokage.

He was no longer present.

Along with her teammate, Jiraiya. He was gone as well, killed during battle. How he died was still an unknown, but he had around the same time the boy she cared for did. His body…or what remained of it, was cremated, and his ashes set in her personal bedroom.

When Jiraiya's body was brought upon her desk, it was missing the right arm, a couple of fingers on the left, and the left eye was gouged out. But not only that, there were multiple large welts, and holes upon the body. Whoever killed Jiraiya, gave him a heavy beating.

The only facts Tsunade knew of Jiraiya's death, was that he had fought and died within Amegakure. The second fact, was that he had died to a group of people…of sorts. The summon that fought by Jiraiya's side, said the person was hooded and masked; though they had 9 different…beings aiding them in battle.

That was it. And it pissed her off to no end that she had no more information than that. She couldn't even blame Amegakure for Jiraiya's death because he was trespassing upon their land. This also meant that whatever information Jiraiya had was stolen as well, since he was killed on enemy grounds.

And whoever took this knowledge used it to a great extent. Just last year, the village of Iwagakure…had fallen. There is nothing left but craters and ruins. The damage was done by two of Iwa's former Biju, The Gobi and Yonbi. No lead was found to whoever killed Jiraiya had something to do with Iwa's fall, but Tsunade had a feeling that was the case.

But she also had a feeling, Akatsuki had something to do with it as well. After all, they had sealed the two Biju, killing their Jinchuriki. But this was information Jiraiya told her.

Tsunade just sighed. She wanted to let out all her tears and sadness but held herself back from doing so. It would only make her depressed for an uncertain amount of time and would take both Shizune and Sakura to get her back on her feet…again.

The woman also ignored the urge to drink Sake. She had made a bet to Jiraiya after all…though it was a fools bet, not to mention complicated.

When Jiraiya told Tsunade about his mission to find the leader of the Akatsuki in Amegakure, he made a bet with her. The bet was that if he came back to Konoha alive, relatively in one peace, she would finally give him his date. However, he if he did not come back then she would be allowed to destroy every copy that wasn't already owned of his Icha Icha series.

Tsunade merely laughed at him, and threw in that if he did die she would never touch sake again. At the time she thought it was a good idea, knowing he would come back and she would be able to keep drinking. Besides, she thought it was about time to give him his long awaited date. She did not want to make the same mistake her younger disciple did.

Well she did.

* * *

Just outside of Konoha, in the outskirts were 9 hooded and cloaked figures. They were silhouettes to whoever was afar, but up close, the 9 wore black hooded poncho cloaks that stopped just a bit below the knees, right at the shins. On the back of the cloak was that of circle that was filled silver with a ripple of rings within. It wasn't big, but it was noticeable…similar to the Uchiha symbol.

The nine figures were standing in front of the Uzumaki clan storage temple. The temple was worn down due to time and abandonment. However it was still standing. Eight of the figures followed the one in front inside of the temple.

A heavy mist was settled in the temple but with a wave of the hand, the mist had vanished, revealing a wall that was decorated with Oni masks. The one that had lead the others in walked up to the wall and picked a mask that was similar to the Shinigami.

The mask itself was a deep purple with horns, an open set of sharp teeth and creepy eyes with black sclera.

The feeling of death and dread surrounded the mask. A moment later, something fell to the ground cracking. It was another mask, though this time pure white with simple slits for eyes, similar to that of a MIST operative in Kirigakure.

The person raised the mask in their hand, placing it on their face. A few moments passed before a dark purple aura emitted from the person as their body cringed. The other 8 figures took a worried step forward, but froze when the feeling of death from the mask had filled the room completely.

The purple aura manifested into a ghostly figure, forming into that of the Shinigami. The Death God, glared down upon the 9 people in the room with a bit of interest. The God noticed the 8 showed no fear as their different colored shades of eyes looked upon it. However, the God knew they were prepared for anything. Interesting.

It's deadly golden eyes looked down upon the figure that called upon it. Realization reached it's eyes before it gave a chuckle and spoke.

"_**I know who you are, boy. And I am rather impressed with you. Your will, your soul…they are strong. To go through such lengths to bring the world to it's knees, I must commend you**_," the Shinigami stated, in a raspy voice that made it hard to distinguish whether it was male or female.

Its eyes then glanced back to the other eight, causing it to speak again. _**"Not to mention, gathering an interesting group of followers. It doesn't even matter to you that abused my authority and law, as long as you reached your goal. I like that, no fear…makes me smile**_," The Shinigami smirked darkly.

"_**Very well then, you have my blessing, young one**_," The Shinigami stated before it's form reverted back to purple energy that once again surrounded the figure. Cringing of the figures body took place, but that was it.

Moments passed and the figure was standing straight, rolling their neck and flexing their hand. A sigh of relief was heard from the figure before they turned around, showing their masked appearance to the followers.

To them, it was fitting. But they said nothing, simply waiting for orders. The masked figure walked past them towards the exit. As they walked out the door, a nod was given and the followers got to work instantly, choosing their own special mask.

Minutes have passed since they 9 left the temple and they were now standing just outside of Konoha's invisible detection field. It allowed the security within Konoha, know when someone or something has entered Konoha's land without the proper pass code.

"How long must we wait, Milord? I'm have starving for blood," One of the figures growled out, a voice of a male. The leader remained silent, as one of the other members spoke.

"Be patient, if your feeling like this imagine how Inari-sama feels. You just have to wait for a few more minutes till,"

"She's here," another member interrupted quietly, standing beside the leader dubbed Inari. The person previously speaking went silent, turning their attention to the cloaked figure walking towards them.

They stopped mere inches before Inari, but still within the shield, bowing. "Inari-sama, how elated I am to see you are in good health," the person said, possessing the voice of a woman.

"I am also happy to see you remain alive and unharmed. But we must cut the pleasantries short. Tell me what I want to know," Inari ordered in a calm somewhat impassive tone. The cloaked woman nodded, standing to deliver the information.

"As you figured, almost every civilian is out enjoying the festival. The Hokage has also doubled the Anbu Patrol. There are a total of 13 units scouted around the village, 2 squads within one unit. There are 3 to each squad," The woman told him, earning a nod.

"The Hokage is in her office, not wanting to join the festival or even give a speech. The Hospital is open and ready for any emergency, considering what night it is. And the girl is still in the same place, I've personally checked. She has been aware of your presence since you entered the land of fire earlier today," The woman finished.

"Excellent work, you shall be rewarded well once this is all over," Inari stated, earning a light blush and an thankful nod from her. Inari didn't turn to his followers, but he did address them. "You all know the plan, so I expect you to follow it completely. Wait for the signal and stay within the shadows. Do not screw this up or I will punish you severly, no matter who you are," Inari finished by giving them a glancing glare, causing shivers of fear run down their spines.

"Hai, Inari-sama!" They chorused. Inari nodded, turning to the cloaked woman, giving her the nod. Chakra engulfed her hand and she waved it. The nine walked in quickly, allowing the field to close again without detection.

Inari stood by the cloaked woman, "Scatter," he said. Instantly the 8 left in black blurs, heading towards Konoha. This left Inari alone with the cloaked woman. He turned to her and caressed her cheek, causing her to lean into his touch.

"I've missed you love," she whispered. Inari nodded as he took off his mask, allowing her to see his face. She could see it hadn't changed since she seen him months ago, but she noticed the noteworthy changes. But despite that, his eyes still held the warmth she grew accustomed too.

"I have too, and I am happy, you are okay," Inari smiled at her, his tone filled with joy and relief.

"What do you want me to do? I can still help holding back-"

"No, you have done enough love. You will finally return home and relax. I don't want to take any chances, not when my daughter is on the way," Inari smiled as his hand trailed down to her stomach which was concealed under a Genjutsu, hiding her five month pregnant stomach.

The woman smiled, rubbing her stomach lovingly. "I've finally decided on a name," she told him, earning his attention. Inari glanced up with curious eyes. "Retsu, that's what I her name to be,"

"Retsu," Inari hummed, laying a kiss upon her stomach. "I love it," Inari whispered before he stood up again and pulled her into a chaste gentle kiss. Once it was over Inari smiled at her before biting his thumb and summoning a small red furred fox.

"What up Don?" The fox yipped with a grin. Inari just chuckled at the secondary title for 'Boss'.

"I need you to get her home safe and sound. Walk a few miles away from this place before transforming," Inari ordered. The fox nodded with a yip as the man turned to the woman as she grabbed his arm, her eyes serious and a bit worried.

"You need to come home, promise me you will," She demanded. Inari nodded but she gave him a look saying she wasn't kidding around. "I'm serious, not only do you have a responsibility to me and the other women, but you have two children that you must help raise,"

"Two…what do you mean two? You're having twins?" Inari asked with curious eyes. She shook her head before speaking again.

"No, _she_ is with child as well. I didn't want to tell you in front of the others, but she is. Three months now," This information made Inari's eyes wide, but a smile soon adorned his face, though a look of seriousness finally came through.

"Alright, I promise. You be safe as well," Inari ordered. The woman gave a nod before kissing him one more time. After that she said goodbye and left with the fox. Once she was away, Inari adorned the mask once again, gazing at Konoha with cold eyes.

Thus he began his trek to Konoha.

* * *

Sayuri Uchiha laid upon her bed, looking up at the cracked grey ceiling of her cell. The girl is supposedly, the 'last' Uchiha living, but she knew that was a lie. There was one more Uchiha alive, and she was with _him_.

"Yo, Uchiha, you have a damn visitor," a guard informed. Sayuri didn't reply, or even glance to see who dared to visit her. The only people who would visit her would be Sakura, and Shizune, the latter ordered by the Hokage for a check up.

Sakura usually visited her two, maybe three times a month. Even while she was locked up in Konoha's top level security center in the village, the pink head would still visit her. Sometimes Sayuri wished she was sent to the correctional facility like the other criminals. But apparently, Sayuri was a 'special' case and needed to be watched by high level shinobi all the time.

Anyway, imagine her surprise when she glances to the door to see it wasn't Sakura or Shizune, but Hinata Hyuuga. The Hyuuga princess wore a passive expression on her as the two gazed at each other.

"By what honor do I owe this visit?" Sayuri muttered sarcastically. Hinata found a seat a bit away from the bed and sat. The Uchiha noticed she was dressed up, wearing a lavender Kimono with orange swirls upon it. Her hair was brushed and combed, a bit of make up on her face as well.

It made Sayuri give a light grunt when comparing herself to the Hyuuga. She has been locked in this cell for 5 years now. Her hair was half assed combed and fell down to her plump ass. Her skin was chapped and a bit more pale than what it was when she was younger. Creases had formed under eyes, looking like bags, similar to one legendary Uchiha.

"How are you, Sayuri?" Hinata asked politely and softly. Sayuri gave a snort, even after all this time, the girl was still soft spoken with a shy aura. It pissed her off when she was younger and it pissed her off now. She didn't see why the girl thought the dobe was interested in her, she was too god damn soft spoken!

"I've been locked in a cramped, bland jail cell for five god damn years. And will be for the next thirty…but other than that…meh," Sayuri shrugged with a roll of her eyes. Hinata remained quiet before speaking.

"Do you feel sorry? Will you apologize for what you did?" Hinata wondered. Sayuri glanced at her but remained silent. It was silent for a few minutes before Sayuri finally spoke.

"Why the fuck do you care? Better question, why are you even here Hyuuga?" Sayuri demanded. Hinata returned the gaze, before speaking.

"You must know that today is Naruto-kun's 21st birthday. I've been…avoiding speaking to you for five years because I was angry. And to be honest, I still am. But I'm no longer at the point that if I saw your face, I would want to kill you," Hinata told her.

Sayuri blinked, and kept herself from laughing, allowing the girl to go on. "I loved Naruto-kun, I still do. I was angry because I had a chance for him to return my love, but you took that away. But…despite what your relationship with him was, he still saw you as his friend, and he forgave all the shit you gave him," Hinata said. "He forgave all of us,"

"So…I'm willing to let go of my hate for you…if you just tell me, if you apologize, for killing Naruto Uzumaki," Hinata's gaze then turned to a hard glare.

Sayuri just stared blankly.

* * *

"You can't act depressed all day, Kakashi," Asuma told his friend, as he, Kakashi, Gai were at the bar having a drink. Kakashi didn't reply, his full shot still in front of him. Asuma sighed as he glanced back to the women who were sitting a booth a few feet away from them.

Kurenai, Anko, Hana and Yugao occupied the booth. Anko was nearly wasted, being loud and obnoxious like usual, but her friends were able to keep her under control somewhat.

It amazed Asuma how the two were dating, Anko could be wilding out, yet Kakashi was depressed. Weren't they both supposed to be there for each other. Asuma glanced back to his friend with a sigh.

"You know, staring at that table will not make the past change. You made your choices, so live with them," Asuma shrugged. Kakashi just sighed as he stood up and left, leaving Anko with her friends. He needed to be alone right now.

As the man walked towards the memorial, he thought about his two favored students that he let down. Naruto Uzumaki and Sayuri Uchiha; at the beginning, Kakashi didn't know where he went wrong. Then he figured out that it was because he was playing favorites. Hell, even failed Sakura.

He wasn't a very good teacher or role model for them all. Sayuri still walked her path of vengeance, and Naruto remained the compassionate, blunt asshole he was. And despite how close the two were, Sayuri still ended up killing Naruto.

He of course was there when it happened. When Sayuri tried to leave the village, Naruto brought her back. Everything was supposed to return to normal but…Kakashi stopped in his thoughts, feeling an eerie wind.

His eye narrowed. When he turned around he was greeted to a silhouette. He couldn't see the person, but could make out their form. The aura of death came off the person, and it made Kakashi wary.

"Can I help you?" Kakashi asked, finally realizing he had reached his destination.

"It's been awhile…Kakashi Hatake,"

* * *

Tsunade stood up and stretched, taking a quick break from her paperwork. The woman walked over to the water dispenser and got a cup of water to quench her thirst. As the liquid to go down her dry throat her eyes widened in surprise when a shinobi busted in her room in panic.

"Hokage-sama! Sayuri Uchiha has escaped! And Hinata Hyuuga is dead!" The Shinobi yelled. Tsunade gulped down the water in a rushed way, going into a coughing fit.

"What?!" She asked with a rasp voice, trying to clear her throat.

"The Uchiha is gone and the Hyuuga is dead! In fact, all the guards watching her are dead! It's literally a bloody mess in the halls!" the Shinobi informed.

_BOOM!_

* * *

**Minutes earlier**

One of the cloaked members of the nine, sat atop a building in the middle of the village, waiting for the signal. They have been waiting rather patiently for about an hour now, however they were disgusted how the villagers of Konoha celebrated.

Their hidden ears twitched as they heard a particular sound…it was coming in the direction of the hospital, some miles away.

The person grinned under their mask, standing up. Their eyes then caught site of one person in particular, and their grin widened even more. Instead of going with their original idea, the cloaked figure jumped down from the building, and entered the crowd.

As they neared the target, the figure purposefully bumped into one of the people.

"Oi! Excuse you is the right response!" Kiba growled as he turned around to the person that bumped him. However instead of apologizing or anything they kept going like nothing happened. This pissed Kiba off, causing him to reach out and grab the offender.

What he didn't expect when he grabbed on the persons shoulder, was a fist to his gut then a kick to his face, sending him crashing into a booth.

"Kiba!" Ino gasped as she and the others started to see if he was okay. Lee, Neji and Shikamaru turned to the person to see they were masked, but they weren't Anbu.

"Who the hell are you?" Shikamaru demanded with narrowed eyes. He could hear a snort from the person as they turned around.

"GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!" Kiba roared as he got up and lunged for the person but he was greeted to a fist to the face.

"Know your place, mutt," the person smirked under their mask, revealing that it was a female. Kiba growled heavily, Akamaru now by his side, growling as well.

"Fuck you!" Kiba charged at the person, Lee backing him up. The cloaked person dodged each of the hits, not caring about bringing attention to herself. She retaliated with one round kick that knocked back both Kiba and Lee.

"You children are not even worthy of earning anymore of my time. Time for the real fun to begin," The woman laughed as she crouched down. The jounin figured she was going to charge them but were confused when she jumped high into the sky instead.

The people in the area furrowed their brows, not able to see the hand signs they were going through.

However, they soon understood when two words were uttered around the village in distinct areas.

"SUMMONING JUTSU!"

The villagers of Konohagakure were silent, as they gazed upon the nine mighty Biju. They all stood in the city, towering above any buildings, even the Hokage Tower. The silence was heavy, the tension thick.

Then a scream was heard throughout the whole village of Konoha, cutting through the silence like paper.

"_**GRRAAAH!**_" The nine biju roared loudly, deadly grins then occupying their lips.

Thus began the eradication of Konohagakure.

* * *

**Be aware that this first chapter is like a prologue. There will be a time revert where the story actually starts. This is one of those stories where the end is the beginning, but then when you near the end the rest of it plays out? Yeah, its that.**

**Bye.**


	2. Own path

**Chapter Two: Own Path**

**Eleven years earlier**

Ten year old Naruto Uzumaki walked through the busy streets of day time Konohagakure. The boy was dressed in a orange short sleeved hoodie with black pants and shoes, a pair of goggles on his head.

Naruto was supposed to be in school, but he didn't feel like wasting his time going, only to be kicked out for just for showing up. And if he didn't kicked out, he wasn't in the mood to deal with the other kids bullying.

So, he roamed the streets of the village. The people however would either ignore him or give him nasty glares but he didn't care. Their stares didn't affect him anymore since he started to ignore them.

He no longer cared why the villagers didn't like him. They didn't matter, they weren't important. He was important, and he only needed to love himself, because he was the only person he had.

The Hokage didn't even matter. With a nod to himself he walked through the streets for merchants, which was quite populated with adults and young children that don't go to the academy.

The reason it was so populated more than normal because merchants from all over the land, and other lands too would come to Konoha once every two months to make large profits. This was another reason Naruto skipped school, so he could buy cool things.

Unlike the villagers of Konoha, the merchants were actually really nice and polite to him. Naruto figured because Money was money, no matter who it came from. And Naruto was so familiar with the usual outsider merchants, that they enjoyed when he came to buy.

Naruto stopped in an alley for a quick assessment, taking off his backpack. Looking inside, was glad that his savings were still present. Bands of dollars and rolls of change were in his bag. Taking out one of the 13 bands of dollars, Naruto pocketed the money and zipped the bag close.

The blond was glad he ate breakfast, it meant he wouldn't be hungry for another three hours which is when lunch time rolled around, so he didn't have to spend money for food. With a grin, he walked through the merchant area, looking upon the different shops.

Naruto took notice of a clothing stand that seemed wasn't getting any business just yet. So he eagerly walked up the stand and tapped on the bell. He only had to wait a few moments when a young lady that looked about 23 came out to serve him.

She seemed surprise to see the 10 year old but shrugged, business was business. "Hey kid, what can I do for ya?" She wondered. Naruto hummed before he nodded to himself.

"I was wondering if you had winter clothing," Naruto said. The woman hummed in thought before she waved for him to follow her. He hopped over the counter and went inside the medium shack to see there lots of different articles of clothing hanging off racks or folded on shelves.

"Well, what exactly are you looking for? We have a different assortment of scarves, gloves, earmuffs, so on and so on," The lady told him. Naruto hummed before he noticed a rusty orange colored scarf.

"Ooh! How about this?" Naruto asked, going over to the scarf. The girl raised a brow before bringing it down and wrapping it around his neck.

It was bit big, covering the lower half of his face, but he should grow into it as time went on. Naruto seemed to notice this and asked how much it was.

"About 400ryo," she told him. Naruto nodded, keeping it in mind as he looked around for more things to buy. The shopkeeper noticed that she was getting more customers and told him to look as long as he liked.

With that said, Naruto went wild.

About twenty minutes later, a stack of folded clothes was on the counter, lifted by Naruto. The shopkeeper was surprised by the amount and looked behind her to see a couple sections of the shelf were empty.

She looked down at Naruto who had a grin on his face. "You sure you can afford this?" She asked, a determined nod was her answer. The woman merely shrugged and started to price the clothes. When the final amount came, she glanced to see Naruto's expression and was a bit impressed to see he didn't even bat an eye when he took out a roll of money from his pocket.

"This seems like a lot of cash, you got some rich parents or something kid?" Naruto shook his head as a response before giving a verbal one.

"Nope! I earn my money from the people in my neighborhood. They give me jobs that pay really well," Naruto answered her. She just nodded before accepting the money and counting it to see if it was the desired amount.

Once it was she watched him stuff the clothes in his bag. "Thanks for your business, in fact, take my card," She said, pulling out a business card and handing it to him. Naruto looked at it to see it read Zumie fashion.

"Our company is based in Mizu no Kuni, and we come here every two months. Here, show whoever shows up in my place this card, and you'll get a ten percent discount," she smiled at him. Naruto grinned in thanks.

"Thanks a lot lady!" Naruto bowed his head a bit.

"Your welcome, what's your name again?" She wondered. Naruto extended his hand and she accepted it.

"Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki," He introduced before he took off with a wave. "See ya later!"

Once Naruto was away from the clothing shop he stopped and opened his bag to see it was empty. With a somewhat serious look in his eye he stuffed his hand in the bag and grasped. Pulling back his hand he brought out one of the shirts he bought.

"Yatta! It works!" Naruto cheered with a large grin before he stuffed the shirt back down and zipped his bag again. The blond then continued on with his shopping, a grin on his face the whole time.

As the day went on, Naruto was seen going from shop to shop excitedly, trying new things and such. He got a haircut, just for the hell of it. He didn't have a particular style and allowed the barber to do whatever he wanted to test his skills.

When he was finished, his hair wasn't shoulder length and was neck length instead, with bangs shortened a bit, though two prominent bangs hung on the side of the goggles, lifted up a bit. Naruto was given ten dollars off of the original price because he allowed the barber to do what he wanted, so he only had to pay $15.

After that, Naruto left to find something else to do, and came across a piercing and Tattoo stand. At first, he wasn't sure if he wanted to but gulped down his fear and paid to get his ears pierced. He was given a set of small golden studs for free, but he paid for black diamond studs which ran him about $650.

Naruto then decided to pay for a tattoo. The shopkeepers weren't sure if it was okay, and were going to decide against it, but Naruto showed them he was more than capable in paying for it. Once they saw he had the money, they gave him his _permanent _tattoo.

However, Naruto paid extra for their new special ink that would be for Shinobi and that deal with seals. Hearing the idea of using seals, and hiding what ever he wanted to hold in his tattoo excited the blond so he got three tattoos.

On his back From shoulder blade to shoulder blade was the phrase Born Sinner in Roman style. He then got the number nine on the right side of his chest in roman style as well. Lastly was near or on his eyes, as he requested small but noticeable dark orange pointed lines at the bottom corner of his eyes, similar to Jiraiya of the Sannin.

For his bravery, they took off $100 of the total price of the tattoo's which he was grateful for but still offered to pay the full amount, though they still declined.

Hours have passed and the sun was starting to set. The merchants were also taking down their stands or finishing up with any last customers. Naruto walked around with fried yellow tail on a stick, littered with items from other shops.

He had replaced his trusty green goggles for a horned forehead protector with the Uzumaki swirl as they symbol instead of Konoha's leaf. On his right thumb was a black ring with a clear gem, a Kanji for Nine on it. He also had gained black wrist guards as well.

In his pocket were all kind of business cards from the shops he visited. Naruto saw today as a good day. He had fun, met new people who were rather nice to him and got some discounts! It beat going to the dumb academy.

"Your just a damn fake! LIAR!" a man yelled as he stomped off past Naruto. The blond had stopped to see where the man was coming from. When he looked he saw an old woman sitting in a chair behind her stand. The headboard read Fortune cards, which was strange to him. Didn't she mean fortune telling?

Shrugging to himself he walked over to the old woman who was putting away her cards.

"Hiya!" Naruto greeted with a polite grin. The old woman noticed him, and gave a gentle smile at him. Naruto mentally took in her appearance, but his facial expression never changed.

The woman had pure white hair, decorated into two buns with two bangs framing the side of her face. Her skin was a bit pale and withered with wrinkles. Her eyes were closed as well. She however wore a white and dark red kimono that looked like they belong to person of nobility. Naruto also noted the seal tags on her buns, his eyes narrowing only slightly as he tried reading them.

"Why hello there young man, how may I help you?" She asked. Naruto shrugged, his smile still in place.

"Just wanted to see if you were alright. That last guy seemed really ticked off," Naruto muttered. The woman gave a sigh and nodded.

"Yes, he was angry of the fortune he received. It doesn't seem the people of this day in age are willing to accept their destiny," The woman stated. Naruto frowned as he voiced his opinion openly.

"I wouldn't either," This caused her to face him with a raised brow so he elaborated. "I don't believe in destiny. Not everything is set in stone, not even death. I can change my path if I wanted too. But there are some people who are too weak to even bother," Naruto shrugged.

The woman kept her brow raised as she gave a reply, "What if it is Kami's will? Or even the will of the gods?"

"The gods can eat a fat di-" Naruto stopped himself, as he was about to be rude and curse in front of an elder who had been polite to him so far. "The gods can mind their own business," he fixed.

The old woman peeked an eye open at him, revealing a violet orb to him. "What is your name young man?

"Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto answered with a grin. The woman gave a chuckle before realizing the sun was about to set. She then pulled out her deck of cards and started to shuffle of them.

"Well Naruto Uzumaki, you may not believe in destiny, but would you like to gives these fortune cards a gander?" She asked. Naruto hummed before he grinned with a nod. "Good,"

The woman continued to shuffle before setting out six cards that had the same back. Naruto looked and studied them hard as she spoke, "You choose three cards. You choose one and I shuffle the rest, then again till you have three. We'll go from there,"

Naruto nodded in understanding, choosing the card on the far right. The woman then took the five cards and moved them around. Naruto then chose the middle card, setting to the side with the other as the woman moved the cards around again. Naruto then chose the card on the left, leaving only three cards left.

The woman took the three cards he chose and put them back in her deck of cards. "You may flip over the cards you chose," Naruto gave a chuckle at the trick and did so. When he flipped over the cards he was entrapped by the designs they each held.

The card in the middle had the picture of the Uzumaki swirl on a sky blue background. The swirl was blood red and a bit shiny.

Naruto looked towards the card on the right to see it had a circle that was filled silver along with a ripple pattern of black rings. The background was a dark orange.

He then looked towards the last card on the left to see it held Konoha's leaf symbol in black with a shiny gold background.

"What are these? And what do they mean?" Naruto wondered, as a look of seriousness and curiosity was on his face. The old woman had closed her eyes and was looking at Naruto and the cards.

"These are your paths to choose from. I do not know what they mean, only the traveler, which is you, Naruto. You are allowed to choose one of these cards, and the one you choose, will come true," The woman told.

"And if I don't?" Naruto asked with a raised brow. The woman gave a shrug in response.

"That is entirely up to you, young man. You are allowed to walk away from these paths, like the previous customer…but I don't recommend it," The woman said, nodding behind him. Naruto looked behind him to see the same man talking to a young lady who had her arm wrapped around another mans.

"What do you mean it's over?! We are supposed to be married in two weeks!" The man stated with a look of distress and anger. The woman however just rolled her eyes.

"Well I don't want to anymore. I've found someone who will actually give me what I want and take care of me. Good luck in life Shoji," The woman waved him off as she and the man started to walk off.

"YOU BITCH!" The man roared, pulling out a Kunai to stab the woman but the Anbu stopped him from doing so. "I'LL KILL YOU! I PROMISE I WILL!" the man screamed as he was being taken away.

"I will get bad luck?" Naruto asked, turning to the woman who gave a nod.

"He decided to ignore the path given to him, so his luck went down the drain," She shrugged. Naruto just looked at her disbelievingly but said nothing. He just sighed as he turned back to the cards, studying them.

He focused on the card with the spiral, and he swore he saw some kind of video playing in the card. The boy saw a village, much more prosperous than Konoha, people with blond and red hair walking around happily. In the middle of the village was the statue of a man with a cloak, however he couldn't tell who it was, but guessed it was him.

Naruto glanced back to the old woman, wondering if she saw what he saw but she was busy looking through her deck. With a frown, Naruto turned to the card with the Leaf symbol.

This time the video he saw, clearly showed himself in an orange and blue jumpsuit fighting in some kind of ice dome, then fighting that a older looking boy who looked blind in an arena that looked like the Chunin exam stadium.

He then saw himself on a giant toad, fighting some kind of sand monster and slamming his head against a red headed boy. The video played on and on till it stopped as he faced a group of people in black cloaks with red clouds.

Pulling away from that card Naruto clicked his teeth. He now realized, that choosing these cards would debate his future. If he chose the card with the spiral, he would be a leader of some village, it didn't look like Konoha though.

And if he chose the card with the Konoha symbol he would fight for Konoha, his mind set on the Shodaime's will of fire. Neither of them sat right with him. He wanted to refuse and walk off, and just deal with the bad luck that came. However, he felt somewhat obligated to see what the last card carried for his future if he chose that path. He already saw the others, why not this one?

When Naruto gazed at the card, there was no video or anything. Just darkness. Naruto waited a bit more for the video, but there was nothing, the darkness remained. Did this mean there was no path really set for him like the others? If so, he was already liking the card.

"Have you come to a decision?" The woman asked. Naruto looked up and gave a nod, his hand hovering over the cards. The old woman expected Naruto to choose the Konoha card, since he lived in Konoha. But she was surprised when he picked up the card on the right.

"I choose this one," Naruto told her. He was a bit surprised when the woman opened both her eyes, revealing violet orbs.

"The fortune of Samsara eh? Interesting card you have chosen Uzumaki. I can tell your will of forging your own path rings true. Very well," the woman nodded. Naruto just gave a small smirk before he tried giving back the card. "No, keep it. It is now yours, as a reminder that only you can create your path, no one else, not even the gods. Good luck, Naruto Uzumaki,"

Naruto just nodded as he walked away from the stand and started to go home. It was then he forgot to pay, but figured the old woman didn't really mind so she let him off the hook.

The blond looked at the card for a couple of moments, before slipping it in his pocket and walking home, finishing his yellow tail as he did so.

* * *

The next morning Naruto tied the sash to finish his new outfit as he looked himself in the mirror. He wore dark orange robes with black outlining along with puffy black pants that got tight around the ankle. He wore black shinobi sandals that attached with his shin guards. Underneath was a standard mesh tank top.

Naruto then glanced to his bed to see the horned headband. He took it and tied it around his head before leaving and locking his apartment. Today he was going to the academy and he would try and have a good day.

**One hour later**

"Well that plan was ruined, stupid teacher," Naruto mumbled as he walked the streets of Konoha. Like usual teacher kicked him out again, for basically not raising his hand so he could be picked to answer the question.

"Whatever, the academy is a waste of time anyway! I don't need them to become a Shinobi!" Naruto stated with a fierce nod. "In fact," gaining an idea Naruto ran to an alley.

A few moments later a man in his mid twenties with long black hair in a ponytail came out of the alley. He had the Konoha headband and the jounin outfit. "I'll teach myself!" Naruto said to himself as he headed to the library.

When he entered, he didn't worry about the librarian finding out his identity. Naruto passed by the basics on chakra since he had a couple of books on it anyway. Instead he chose books on jutsu, and elemental affinities. He also picked out some Ninjutsu techniques that were available to him since he had an fake I.D for jounin.

With a whistle, Naruto carried all the scrolls and books to the counter and had the librarian check them out to his fake I.D. Once he was done with that, he went on his merrily way back to his apartment.

Once he was inside, he activated the seals around the complex, locking the doors and windows and making sure no one could get in or out without his go ahead. Going into the living room he sat down the scrolls and such, then reverted to normal.

"I swear civilians can be real stupid when it comes to a henge," Naruto laughed.

"Yip! Yip!" Naruto looked down to his pet fox kit and scooped the animal up, putting it on his head like Kiba did with Akamaru.

"Yeah I wasn't gone long girl, the stupid teacher kicked me out again," Naruto grumbled, earning an angry yip from the fox.

The kit vixen was named Aka, by Naruto since her fur was blood red. She strangely had sapphire blue eyes like his own which made her a bit weird, but Naruto didn't care because he loved her anyway.

She was still rather small, fitting in both of his palms. He found her two years ago in the forest saving her from death twice during the day. After the second time, he brought her home and named her Akane, but called her Aka for short.

"Well it doesn't matter, because now I can train myself. Yeah it'll be hard, but I'll get it done," Naruto grinned before he set to work to finish his original book on chakra. After half an hour of that Naruto closed the book he finished and set it to the side.

He then moved on to the art of Taijutsu and went on from there.

* * *

**Three months later**

_SPLASH!_

"COLD!" Naruto screamed as he immediately jumped from out of the cold river water and on to dry land, shivering.

"Now that you are awake, pay attention!" Naruto blinked as he heard an unfamiliar voice of a male. He looked to his left to see a man he had only met once which was the day before.

"YOU'RE THAT OLD PERV!" Naruto pointed to the tall muscular perverted white haired man.

"The name is Jiraiya Gaki, remember it," Jiraiya of the Sannin ordered with a frown. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the man before looking around, noticing he was in a forest.

"Where the hell am I?" Naruto wondered.

"You're in a forest, now enou-"

"Why the hell did you bring me in a forest? What do you want with me anyway?" Naruto demanded with a questioning glare. Jiraiya raised a brow before he chuckled a bit and spoke.

"I've been watching you for some time, Naruto Uzumaki. Once I heard you had dropped out of the academy, I had to know why and what you have been doing all this time. Imagine my surprise when I learn you have been training yourself for the past three months," Jiraiya told Naruto who still had a questioning gaze.

"Long story short, I'm bored, you need proper training so I'm going to give it too…that is _if _ you can survive in this forest for a whole year," Jiraiya smirked, Naruto scowled in response.

"No. Why would I want training from an old perv anyway? What I've seen from you, you're nothing special," Naruto huffed.

"Gaki, do you even know who I am?!" Jiraiya demanded as he got ready to start his dance. "I am Jiraiya! The legendary Gama Sennin! I am one of the three Densetsu no Sannin! And the student of the Sandaime Hokage himself! I trained the Yondaime Hokage as well! You should feel honored to want to learn from me!" Jiraiya boasted.

"…."

"…."

"Pass," Naruto turned away and started to walk away to find his way out of the forest. Jiraiya blinked in surprise, not expecting the tough guy act not to work. Jiraiya then tried to think of something quick, something that will get the boy to at least listen!

"How about I teach you how to make explosive seals?!"

"Already know,"

Jiraiya cursed, wondering what else Naruto knew. He couldn't escape this chance of getting to train his godson. This was his only window of opportunity to get him stronger like his old man before he became a genin…_if _he became a genin.

"Then what about I let you sign the toad contract?!"

"Toads are creepy," Naruto replied still walking off. Jiraiya felt insulted and had to forcefully bite his tongue so nothing overly negative came out.

"What if I can make you as fast as the Yondaime?!" Jiraiya blurted out without thinking. This actually stopped Naruto, as he looked back towards Jiraiya.

"Your serious?" Naruto wasn't stupid. He knew that the Yondaime was considered the fastest man alive during his time, and that was quite a title. Naruto usually drooled when he thought about the speed the Yondaime possessed. It was part of the reason he was so interested in Taijutsu, as it would increase his speed. He also wanted strength to match the speed too.

"Dead," Jiraiya nodded. The blond gazed at him before his eyes turned into a glare.

"You promise to train me seriously if I survive this year?" Naruto demanded. Jiraiya nodded, "Say it!" the man blinked before sighing and speaking.

"I vow on the River Styx to train you, Naruto Uzumaki seriously if you survive this year," Jiraiya vowed. Naruto raised a confused brow at the reference.

"What's the River Styx?" He asked. Jiraiya raised a brow before shrugging.

"Look it up on your own time. Well, I'm gone, see you in a year!" Jiraiya waved with a grin as he vanished in a shushin. Naruto merely blinked before he realized something….

He had no kind of WEAPON! Or any FOOD!

"Damn," The blond cursed under his breath before he heard a growl from above. Looking up, he saw a jaguar ready to pounce on him from the tree.

"Double damn,"

"That should do it," Jiraiya muttered as he finished the last seal that would keep Naruto inside the forest if he ever tried to find his way out. Jiraiya wasn't stupid enough to put Naruto in a real forest outside of Konoha, so he put him in the forest of death, where he could watch the boys progress and actually contribute from the shadows.

"Now, time to go talk to the old geezer,"

* * *

"You did what?" Hiruzen Sarutobi demanded, glaring at his student. Jiraiya didn't flinch as he sat on the window sill of the office room, biting into an apple.

"I left Naruto in the forest of death to survive for a year. It'll toughen him up, despite his somewhat rebellious and smart ass attitude, the kid is soft," Jiraiya shrugged.

"And if he dies?" Hiruzen questioned.

"Now you and I both know I won't allow that. Naruto's a smart kid, he'll find a way to survive. And when he does, he will be leaving with me for the next three years," Jiraiya told him.

"Are you asking permission?" Hiruzen hummed, though raised a brow when Jiraiya shook his head.

"No, I'm telling you. Naruto really has no purpose in Konoha at this point of time. He's ten years old and he isn't allowed into the academy in a sense. Instead of wasting time doing absolutely nothing, teaching himself basics," Jiraiya said as he looked out the window.

"He could be traveling the world with me, learning different things, meeting new people. Plus, it will allow me to actually bond with my godson. I'm not taking no for an answer sensei. Itachi is doing rather well with these Akatsuki people and will inform me when anything comes up," Jiraiya explained.

"But Jiraiya, I don't think the council-"

"I don't care what the council says!" Jiraiya snapped, a scowl on his face. "Who is in control here? You the Hokage, or the council filled with Civilians? I swear, in your old age I think you are seeing Konoha as more as a democracy than a dictatorship," Jiraiya grumbled.

Hiruzen had nothing to say as he knew that Jiraiya was right. "Look, Naruto has no choice but to become a Shinobi anyway. The Biju inside him is proof of that. I can see so much potential with this kid, even more than Minato," the Hokage looked up at his former student with a raised brow.

"Taking him with me will make him become stronger than what he would be if he stayed here, even if he went to the academy. I can see in his eyes that he is lonely, he needs a way to keep his mind off that. A depressed Jinchuriki is a mentally unstable Jinchuriki, Suna's is proof of that," Jiraiya muttered, referring to the youngest son of the Yondaime Kazekage.

Hiruzen sighed before he nodded. "Alright, but here is the deal. Naruto comes back when he is fourteen, right before the graduation exams. I test him myself personally to see if he is capable of being a Shinobi. If he is training under you, I expect him to know two C-rank Jutsu's, one of different elements," Hiruzen started.

"He must as least know how to break away from a Genjutsu, and he must know a Taijutsu style. I also don't mind if you tell him about the Kyuubi, but under NO circumstances, and I mean ANY must he learn of his parentage," Hiruzen glared, that was one thing he would be very strict about.

"I got ya, no learning of parents until he is Chunin," Jiraiya nodded he then stood off the sill and gave a stretch. "Now, if you don't mind, I have some research to return too," Jiraiya smiled perversely before he left the Hokage alone.

Hiruzen sighed before he began gathering up some information Naruto could learn from while training with Jiraiya.

* * *

"DODGE!" Jiraiya barked at the boy as he started throwing a series of decent sized stones at the frantically evading blond.

It had been a year, and Naruto had survived his time in the forest of death. It was rough for the first six months. He was constantly looking over his shoulder, running away and hiding from the carnivorous animals.

But once Naruto had a near death experience with a couple of over grown cats, all the fear he possessed vanished from his body. Once he recovered, he was able to tap into his animal instincts to survive, which he did.

It didn't take long for him to train on his own with the animals, building up his tolerance to pain, his stamina, speed and strength. Now while he wasn't exactly king of the jungle or whatever, he still had some pretty scary animals that respected him.

Once the year was over, Jiraiya came back. Naruto thought the man was going to take him to get food so he could have a proper meal instead of recently raw meat he cooked in thirty minutes. The boy was starving!

But no! The ass allowed him a few hours of undisturbed rest with no sense of Paranoia before dropping him in a cold ass river when it was time to wake up. And now here he was, dodging the fast rocks.

Though, he wasn't doing so well, as he continued to be pelted, earning bruises and welts.

"FUCK!" Naruto yelped as a rock had hit his shoulder then another got his knee cap before a third pelted his forehead causing him to fall back in pain. "Ow,"

"Get up, we're far from done," Jiraiya said in a serious tone. He had vowed to train the boy seriously and that was what he was going to do. Naruto groaned as he stood up on wobbling knees.

"Now…DODGE!"

* * *

**There is the second chapter. Hope you enjoyed, review and tell me what you enjoyed and how!**

**Bye.**


	3. A single step to training

**Chapter Three: A single step to training**

Three months have passed since Jiraiya had started training Naruto. The teacher and student had just left Konoha and were headed…well, Naruto didn't really know where they were headed, nor did he care, he was just so excited with leaving the village.

"Calm down Gaki, your going to be missing Konoha soon enough," Jiraiya chuckled amusingly as Naruto was ignoring him as he looked around with wide eyes, Aka on his head doing the same thing.

"Can't believe I'm finally out of that shit hole!" Naruto grinned, showing Jiraiya that he had completely ignored him. Jiraiya was a bit miffed, not at the fact that Naruto had just cursed about their home village, but because he was ignored.

"Well, how about you channel that excitement of yours into some training hm?" Jiraiya glanced around before he found a tree and pulled off a couple of leaves. Naruto and Aka looked at him confused as he walked over to the blond, handing him the leaves.

"You are going to work on your chakra control, build on it. So until we reach our destination you will have these leaves stick to your forehead, the back of your palms and your chest. And your fox here will be in on this exercise too," Jiraiya stated as he stuck the leaves to Naruto himself with his own chakra.

But they would only last a few moments as Naruto needed a head start. He then stuck a leaf to the Aka's nose, causing her to wrinkle it.

"Ne, where are we going anyway Ero-sennin?" Naruto asked, his concentration more on the leaves he had to keep on. Jiraiya's eye twitched, great another nickname. That blasted Kushina had dubbed him Ero-Jiji and Minato had even called him Ero-sensei! The man knew he was a super pervert, but damn!

"Well for calling me that, I won't tell you. But if you apologize, I'll fill you in," Jiraiya offered but silence was his response. He glanced down to Naruto with a raised brow, "Well?"

Naruto blinked glancing up at Jiraiya before focusing back on the leaves. "Eh? You say something Ero-sennin?"

"Grr," Jiraiya growled lightly in annoyance, facing forward again, unaware of the small smile on the young boys face.

"Yip!"

"I know girl, this is hard!" Naruto agreed with the fox with a light groan.

A couple of hours passed in silence for the two travelers, and Jiraiya was really impressed that Naruto had been focused on the task given to him for so long, and he hadn't complained once about the walk. He didn't even ask for a break.

Jiraiya glanced down to his young pupil to see he was walking normally, not as focused anymore. "I assume you have gotten the hang of it?" He asked the kid who just nodded in unison with his fox.

"Good, now we can try something a bit more challenging," Jiraiya hummed in thought before finding exactly what he needed. Walking over, he bent down and picked up a pair of decent sized stones.

"Now you will stick this to the palm of your hand. The stone will be a bit more challenging because of it's higher mass and density. If the stone falls from your palm, start over, we'll reach our destination in another hour or so," Jiraiya informed.

"Whatever you say Ero-sennin," Naruto shrugged, taking the stones. He handed one to Aka who was trying to keep it at the tip of her tail.

"You know Naruto, I've been meaning to ask," Jiraiya started earning a piece of the blonds attention. "How come you are doing everything I tell you without complaining? Even before we left, I told you to run 3 laps around the village, you did. I told you to do 100 sit ups, you did 120…what gives?" Jiraiya wondered.

"Well, you're the first person to honestly care about my training. You see I want to be a Shinobi and you are willing to help me. So in a way, I'm grateful for that. Complaining and whining about things will only annoy you and regret trying to help me, I don't want that," Naruto shrugged.

Jiraiya blinked, a smile coming upon his face, remaining silent.

"You're going to go far kid,"

* * *

"HIYA!" a man yelled as he sent a kick to another mans face who dodged it. The two men continued to fight and this is what Naruto and Jiraiya walked in too when entering the large Dojo of Mantis. Naruto and Aka watched amazed at the fight in front of him, while Jiraiya was looking around the room.

Sitting off to the side, the man was able to see more men and women in white Gi's, along with a couple of children. The adults looked about their mid twenties early thirties, while the kids looked about Naruto's age or a few years older. However he did see two teenagers that looked around 15.

But they weren't important to Jiraiya. His eyes then fell upon two men and a woman who were wearing different colored GI's. One man had an even look on his face wearing a dark blue GI, the other was stoic wearing a dark purple GI while the woman had a somewhat peaceful expression but was focused on the match, wearing a burnt orange GI.

"Gah!" One of the men flinched as he was kicked in the chest and fell to one knee. The other man was about to finish him off with a blow to the head but he stopped and stood stock still when the man with the stoic expression yelled out,

"Hai!"

"HAI!" The two men responded, with bass. Jiraiya and Naruto watched as the man in the purple GI eyed them severely before nodding his head.

"Sit," The man said in a deep voice.

"Hai Quin-Sama!" the two men bowed before sitting down with the other students. The man now known as Quin paced around the Dojo.

"I hope you all have learned from this spar. Take a five minute break before we resume," Quin allowed, glancing towards the two visitors. The students nodded as they either filed out the room or chatting with each other quietly in different spots of the room.

Quin and the other two masters made their way over to Jiraiya, the woman having a welcoming smile on her face and the other man having a small smirk. Quin just gave a nod to Jiraiya, before speaking.

"Jiraiya-san, what brings you here?" Quin asked the man. Jiraiya just smirked before patting Naruto on the head, who had his eyes on the other children, though they would flicker back to the three adults in front him.

"I wanted to introduce my newest and youngest pupil, Naruto Uzumaki," Jiraiya introduced. Naruto heard his name and glanced towards the adults, giving a small bow in greeting.

The woman gave a bow as well, and Naruto took in her aging beauty. She looked to be in her early thirties with black hair tied into a braid. Two bangs framed the side of her olive skinned face. Her eyes were a dark green, radiating kindness. She stood at 5'9 which was quite tall for a woman.

"Naruto, this is Master Yue, She is one of the Taijutsu masters here in the Dojo," Jiraiya informed before turning to the man in the blue Gi. "This is Master Dai, another master of Taijutsu, he also teaches Bojutsu," Naruto looked upon the man to see he was a bit older than Yue.

He looked to be in hid late thirties, with short cropped dark brown hair and black eyes. The man also had a bit of stubble on his chin; He had a muscular looking form and stood 6'0.

"And this is Master Quin, he is the Head Master of this Dojo. He was also a student of Chen, a legendary Taijutsu master that happened to be a jounin of Konoha," Jiraiya introduced, Naruto gaze then fell on Quin, taking in his appearance.

The man was the same height as Dai, though he looked to be in his mid forties. He had black hair pulled back into a short ponytail along with a full grown beard. His eyes coal black with a feeling of strictness in them.

Naruto already had a feeling he wouldn't see eye to eye with the man, but said nothing.

"Now that we have met the boy, what really brings you here?" Quin questioned again. Jiraiya just gave a light grunt before he scratched the back of his head.

"Well, I have taken Naruto out of Konoha to give him training. I plan on training him in Taijutsu, but that's not really my field. So I figured, why not cash in on that favor you owe me. So I want you to keep Naruto around and train him for a couple of months while I cover my bases to make sure I really do have time to train him," Jiraiya stated, earning a look from the blond which was ignored.

Quin maintained Jiraiya's gaze before he called out, "Kai!" almost instantly a boy a that looked around Naruto's age stepped up beside Quin, standing straight. Naruto looked him over to see the boy was about a few inches taller than him, with silver spiky hair with two bangs that fell over his dark blue eyes. He also had two blue marks on his cheeks, similar to an Inuzuka.

"You will spar against this boy," Quin told Kai who looked at Naruto with a raised brow. "His name is Naruto. Naruto this is Kai, my star pupil in my youngest age group. If you can impress me while fighting him, I will train you,"

Naruto looked at Jiraiya who gave a shrug. With a sigh, Naruto took off his back pack and handed it to Jiraiya. He also had Aka get off his head, making sure she was secure on Jiraiya's shoulder.

Naruto rolled his shoulder before following Kai to the sparring mat. The two boys glared each other down with blank expressions while Quin was the referee. Everyone else started to pay some attention as well.

"I don't know if you know any Ninjutsu Naruto, but Taijutsu only. The winner is determined when the other falls and is unable to continue or unless I stop it and announce it," Quin told the two boys. Giving the master nods, Quin gave his own nod. "Hajime!"

Kai slid into his own stance while Naruto spread his legs a bit along with his arms, giving a decent crouch. Nothing was said as Naruto darted at Kai, throwing a round kick which was dodged.

The silver haired boy continued to dodge Naruto's kicks before countering with a punch to the chest which sent Naruto back. The blond didn't stop though as he charged Kai, throwing a cocked back fist which was blocked. Naruto then spun around, to give a kick but it was ducked under.

Kai sent Naruto into the air and onto the ground with an uppercut. The blond grunted, wiping his chin. Naruto narrowed his eyes as he studied the boy. Kai snorted before he rushed Naruto, throwing a combo of punches at him.

Naruto was able to dodge almost all of them but did not see the kick to his gut coming. He hunched over in pain before tumbling to the ground with a round house kick. Kai lowered his leg as Quin was going to give the match to the unharmed boy.

"Well shit," Naruto grumbled as he stood back up, wiping his bloody mouth. With a smirk, Naruto untied his sash and tossed away his robes, now in his black pants and fishnet tank top. "Alright, lets go," Naruto grinned.

Kai narrowed his eyes as Naruto ran towards the boy. Kai dodged the left fist then was tricked to dodge the feint right punch. Instead Naruto kneed him in the stomach then kneed his face before giving three punches to the boys face before a round kick, causing Kai to fall to the ground.

"Ha!" Naruto grinned as he rubbed his fists. He just needed to get warmed up was all. He totally kicked ass! Turning to Quin he expected the man to give him his win but instead he was punched in the face by Kai.

"Damn!" Naruto grunted as he stumbled back. He recovered in time to move his head from the kick before hopping back, but Kai hopped with him, punching his gut. Naruto gasped for breath as the two landed on their feet but Naruto fell just a moment later.

Kai kicked Naruto in the chest again, causing him to fall. Naruto was down, trying to get into air into his lungs for a good thirty seconds.

"Kai is declared the winner," Quin stated as Jiraiya made his way over to Naruto and helped him up. Kai just gave a light sneer at the boy before walking off, bowing to Quin as well.

"You did good," Jiraiya told the boy who scowled, though he was still wheezing.

"I got my ass kicked,"

"Yeah you did, but for your first fight, you did good," Jiraiya smiled. Naruto just nodded, though he still didn't look pleased. The two turned their attention to the three masters that walked upon him.

"I will train you," Quin said, Naruto gave a nod but Quin continued. "However, you will be held to the same standards as the rest of the students. If you can not keep up, I will drop you. I have no time for failures," Quin stated.

Naruto wanted to scowl and tell the sensei to fuck off but bit his tongue hard.

"Yip!" Aka voiced her masters thoughts. Quin directed his attention to the fox and his eyes narrowed.

"No pets in the dojo," Quin told the boy. Aka gave a growl which made the master raise his brow. Naruto however just took her from Jiraiya and petted her head to calm her.

"She won't get in the way and she'll be quiet, right Aka-chan?" Naruto turned to his fox with a somewhat pleading grin. Aka gazed into her masters eyes before glancing to the unamused Quin.

"I don't care, no pe-"

"I see no problem with it, as long as the fox is out of the way, she can stay," Dai shrugged with Yue agreeing with him. Quin gave glances to the two masters before giving a short sigh and nodding.

"Fine, but it only has one chance, understood?" Quin demanded. Naruto nodded along with Aka. "Good. Yue will get you your uniform. Be on the mat in ten minutes," Quin ordered.

Naruto nodded and followed Yue, along with Jiraiya while Dai and Quin attended to the other students.

"Sheesh, what's that guys problem?" Naruto scowled as he put on his White Gi, Aka sitting on the bench watching him with wide blue eyes. "Meh Meh Meh! All he does is bitch, ugh, reminds me of that damn teacher in the academy," Naruto grumbled.

"Your attitude better change soon Gaki, Quin was being serious," Jiraiya stated as he walked in the room. Naruto then fixated a glare on the Sannin.

"And what the hell is with you leaving me here?! Your supposed to train me! Didn't you make a promise or something?" Naruto demanded. Jiraiya gave a light grunt, expecting Naruto to bring it up.

"I am and I will, just as soon you are at the appropriate level. Besides, I honestly do need to cover my bases and inform my network of spies to be on the look out even more since my time will be focused on you," Jiraiya told the boy. Naruto just scowled, tying the sash.

"Just give me a couple months and we'll be on our way and you really will get training," Jiraiya said. Naruto just looked at him before setting Aka on his head and walking away from Jiraiya.

"Whatever,"

"Naruto," Jiraiya called. The boy stopped and turned to see that Jiraiya had a serious expression though his eyes were soft. "I'm not going to abandon you like the others, so just trust me,"

The blond didn't blink, his face still blank. He turned around and began walking again. "I will…once you give me a reason too,"

Jiraiya frowned, figuring he should have anticipated a response like that from Naruto. The boy had trust issues, so it was hard from him to trust anybody, especially blindly. It would take work for him to earn Naruto's trust. And he will work at it as soon as he gets back.

"Be careful Naruto, and be strong," He advised quietly as the door shut leaving him alone.

* * *

"Ugh!" Naruto grunted as he fell into the hard grassy ground. He grimaced, standing back up to face his multiple opponents. They were some of the kids in his age group, about 4 of them, when in all there were ten.

Two of them were keeping lookout for the masters, and the other four were simply minding their own business, as if they weren't watching. Not to far from the group of kids were the two teenagers, watching Naruto with sneers. Kai, was watching as well, but he was training too.

Naruto wiped his mouth from the blood as he glared at his bullies. It's been about a month since Jiraiya left him here and he fucking hated it! It was like being at the Academy just more violent!

The kids in the academy he could handle. Kiba, he could handle. Sayuri, he could handle. Ino and Sakura's bitching…he could handle!

But these mother fuckers, were a different story. They were better than him, faster, stronger. They had more real training than he did, they knew real fighting forms and all that shit. He did not.

They loved bullying him! His first week, he thought he could last Quin and the other masters teachings till Jiraiya got back. But after the damn week, these fuckers started to pick on him without the masters even taking notice!

Sometimes they would get on him so bad, he would nearly be late to the class. First it was verbally, calling him a newbie and loser since he lost to Kai, who turned out not to be the best of the age group. In fact he was the dead last! So basically Quin lied to him and Jiraiya, probably to see Naruto's resolve.

Then after Naruto stopped ignoring the calls, and retorted with his own, fists would start flying. He could handle one pretty decent, but when one or three more followed, he was clearly out matched.

"What's the matter Dobe?! Can't swing?" A boy named Joji taunted. Naruto growled as the other kids, Sosa, Mala and Kori would sneer and taunt him as well.

"FUCK ALL OF YOU!" Naruto roared loudly as he charged at the nearest person which was Sosa. Naruto sucker punched him in the face before blurring and kicking Mala in the jaw. Kori and Joji rushed him and started punching and kicking him.

Once the other two recovered they joined on his beating.

"YIP YIP!" Aka wailed as she was being held back by Yuku, who was watching guard.

"Aka," Naruto mumbled as he was being stomped on by the kids. Aka was biting down on Yuku, but her teeth weren't sharp yet so it didn't really hurt.

"Hahaha, look at this guys! The losers dog, is yelping for help," Yuku laughed. This caused Aka's eyes to flash red. She bit down hard on Yuku's arm and gripped.

"AH!" Yuku yelped as he threw the fox down. Aka tumbled a bit before getting up to go help her owner. But before she could get close, Yuku had kicked her into a tree, earning a yelp of pain. The fox slumped down on the ground, unconscious.

"Aka," Naruto whispered, his eyes beat swollen seeing his friend get hurt.

_Kill_

_Kill_

_Kill!_

_KILL!_

"GRAH!" Naruto roared, a wave of red chakra exploding from his body. Everyone had stopped, watching the kids blown away. Naruto's wounds started to heal at a fast rate as he was surrounded by red chakra. His sapphire blue eyes were blood red, his whisker marks were dark and bold while his nails were now claws.

"Kill!" Naruto growled out as he set his eyes on Yuku who had eyes filled with fear. Naruto rushed at Yuku, his clawed hand cocked back, ready to either swipe the boys head off or plunge it through his body.

"KILL!"

Yuku shut his eyes, waiting for pain to come.

But it never did.

Why that was because of Yue holding Naruto's clawed hand, while her foot was on his own, promptly stopping. Yue had a impassive look on her face, gazing into Naruto's angry blood lusting eyes.

However, they dulled, falling into unconsciousness due to Dai hitting the back of his neck. Naruto's body slumped causing her grip to tighten as she held him close, a sullen look on her face.

She then glanced to the down and probably hurt Aka. Walking over to the fox, she set her in Naruto's arms while she(Yue) carried Naruto in her arms.

"I'm taking him to the infirmary. Make sure these kids are uninjured, then give them hell," Yue glared. Dai nodded his head, watching Yue walk off. He would have offered to take Naruto to the infirmary but figured it would be best if she did it considering the mood she was in.

If he left her alone with the students, they would probably crippled, if not dead…and he wasn't just referring to the ones who were bullying Naruto, but ALL the students. They watched and did nothing about it, so she would most likely punish them as well.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes tiredly but didn't make any noise. When he was fully awake, he was greeted to a dark ceiling. Turning his head, he could see a white curtain blocked him from the rest of the room.

Looking to his side, was a bandaged Akane that was sleeping peacefully. Naruto smiled happily as he gently pet behind her ears, causing her to give a soft purr. The blonds ears tensed as he heard a door opened, followed by foot steps then a voice.

"He needs to go," that was the Master of being an ass, Quin.

"Are you joking right now?!" That was Yue, probably the only master he respected the most. She sounded angry, though speaking in a whisper, probably not to wake him. "He was just bullied physically and verbally and your kicking him out?! What did he do?!"

"He is a danger to this Dojo. I saw what happened, and it's mostly his own fault," Quin snorted. Naruto then heard a chair being moved, probably because Yue stood up, glaring at Quin.

"How is it his fault?" Yue grounded out. Quin was quiet for a moment before speaking.

"If he was strong enough, he would be able to protect himself. But he is too being late to class and playing with that mutt, that he isn't able too," Quin told her. Naruto could feel Yue's anger rolling off of her, hell he was angry.

But he still didn't understand why he was a danger…what did he do?

"You knew the whole time didn't you? And you did nothing about it!" Yue growled.

"It was to make him stronger, guess it didn't work. He is the student of Jiraiya after all, there must have been a reason to why. He isn't anything like Minato," Quin muttered.

"You are such an Ass! That boy has been working his ass off since he came here! I've noticed how you've been purposely moving a bit faster so he wouldn't be able to get it! You've been trying to get rid of him since day one!" Yue pointed out.

"And I've noticed how you've been helping him after hours so he understands what is being taught," Quin fired back. "I'm not having this discussion with you Yue, the boy needs to leave, today, as soon as possible,"

It was silent for a few moment's and Naruto could hear Quin walk away but before he truly left he spoke. "And don't even think of handing in your resignation, you are still under contract for another four years. You know the consequences shall you try to even make an attempt,"

With that, Quin left the room.

Naruto had frowned deeply, his eyes becoming sad and angry. It was not his fault, it was those god damn kids! Fuck, it didn't even matter! He hated this place anyway, so he was glad to be kicked out! Fuck the Dojo, Fuck those kids, and Fuck Quin!

"I know your awake Naruto," Yue said quietly. Naruto froze before he gave a light sigh and got out of the bed, moving the curtain aside to see she slumped back into the chair. "I'm guessing you heard?"

"Every word," Naruto muttered as he walked forward and sat in his own chair. It was silent between them before Naruto spoke. "Why the hell did I do to him? I've tried so hard to at least be even with him but…"

"It's nothing what you did Naruto, it's just him. Quin has been a major asshole since I can remember. But…it's fine, you don't need him to teach you to be good at Taijutsu,"

Naruto raised a brow, wondering what she meant. "Do you mean that Chen guy he trained under? No thanks, he must be an Ass too if he was able to put up with him," Naruto declined.

"No not master Chen, besides he's…missing anyway. So you wouldn't be able to find him unless you put some actual work into it," She chuckled. "No, I mean the Masters I trained under. They are way better than Quin, and probably Chen,"

"Are the assholes too?" Naruto wondered. Yue shook her head.

"No, not at all. Just…different. They have their own quirks, but they are good people once you get to know them. From what I hear, there aren't many students there though, just a few," Yue informed.

Naruto hummed in thought, seemed interesting. "Where is it?" Yue took a deep breath before she spoke.

"Oni no Kuni, Demon Country,"

"…"

"…"

"Well Shit!"


	4. New People

**Chapter Four: New People**

Naruto looked over railing of the ship he was on, gazing at the deep blue water, Akane safely on his head napping.

It's been a week since Yue had bought him a ticket to Demon country and put him on a ship. It would be another day before they would finally dock and he would have to find his own way to the Masters of Combat.

Yue called it the Dragon Temple. Apparently, there weren't only Taijutsu masters, but Masters of Weapons as well, and Genjutsu, stealth, all kinds. It was like a Shinobi academy, without becoming a Shinobi or being an academy.

At first Naruto declined the idea of leaving fire country to go to a far land that he had barely even heard of. Sometimes he wondered if there was real demons if they called it demon country. Then he figured there probably were as it would be stupid to name a whole country that if there wasn't any demons.

Plus, Naruto also saw it as a way to stay away from Jiraiya a bit longer. The man was currently on his bad side since he left him there and had not been back. Trust him his ass, just when he thought he could, the Sannin pulled that stunt.

Naruto leaned away from the rail and sat down, pulling out a book. It was a strange book he found on a bench while he was in the city port for Demon Country. The pages were a bit yellow and hard, the book was a bit big and heavy.

On the cover was an embed metal strange looking D. He wondered what it meant but shrugged. He had been reading it most of the time when he was on the boat and he was complete fascinated.

The book had subject, some of which he did not understand but didn't mean he was interested in learning. He had come across the art of battle, The story of Wars before Ninjutsu, when people would just use swords and armor, he called it the Olden days.

He also came across the story of the Rikudo Sennin. How he had three children, two sons and a daughter. And how the Juubi and the rest of the Biju came to be. It spooked him a bit but he got over it quick.

Now he was on a new topic a group of people he didn't really have any faith in and actually kind of disliked.

The Gods.

Naruto was reading how The Gods even came to be and how they affected the mortal plane. Apparently, there were more than just the Gods he and the elemental nations believed in. The Gods he and the people of the nations believed in as a majority were called the Shinto Gods. Which was basically Kami, Yami, Shinigami, Susanoo, Izanami, and so on.

There were Greek Gods, Roman Gods, which were basically the same as the Greeks just with different names and ways of life; Norse Gods and more.

But this was just the intro of the topic. What he was reading at the moment, was how the Gods came to be…their parents.

Naruto never really thought that Gods had parents, he just figured they were spirits and that controlled almost everything and that was it. But it wasn't the case. The Gods before them, were dubbed Titans.

The Greek Gods Zeus, Poseidon and Hades, their father the King of Greek Titan's was named Kronos, who was the master of time.

For the Shinto Gods Kami and Yami, their Mother Izami was the Queen Titan of Shinto.

However the gods of Norse did not have problems with their own Titans and did not participate in the Titan God war. For their own reasons, the Gods challenged the Titans and were able to win banishing and punishing any Titans they could.

Kronos was cut up into many pieces and was cast away into the depths of Tatarus. Izami was held down by One-hundred thousand holy chains and sealed into her throne room for the rest of eternity.

Though the book didn't exactly tell Naruto exactly why Izami was overthrone, he knew why Kronos was, and that was because he was just a complete ass…if the stories told about him were any indication.

Once the Titan God war was over, Kami and Yami stepped up to the plate of leadership creating their own…race or whatever of Shinto gods, which included Susanoo, Inari, Tsukuyomi, Izanami and Izanagi etc.

Zeus also stepped the plate as the king of Greek gods, following the Shinto Gods lead by creating his own kingdom of gods. Poesiodon was the greek god of sea while Hades was the god of hell and death.

Demons were seen as angels who had fallen from the grace of their kingdom, whether it be Greek, Norse or Shinto. And if they weren't fallen angels, then they were mortals who had died and stayed in the Astral plane for too long, eventually becoming Hollows…another name for Demons.

Naruto flipped through more pages of the book till he came across the chapter title of '_Mortal Demon_'. Raising a brow, Naruto started to read the chapter, and it really opened his mind a bit.

The section basically explained the way of a mortal turning into a demon; earning the mass power of a demon and abilities, yet still retaining their human traits. The power that came with being a Mortal Demon was vast and very tempting for those with dark souls.

Naruto was forced to stop reading when the captain of the ship informed the passengers they had arrived to Oni no kuni. Closing the book, he stood grabbed his bag and began to set foot on the new country with his Vixen on his head.

Naruto followed the crowd a bit to civilization and walked the streets on his own a bit, seeing new things. Though almost everything was like how it was in Konoha, the atmosphere seemed a little less hostile.

"Yip!" Akane spoke earning a nod of agreement from Naruto.

"Yeah, we should ask somebody where it is," Naruto muttered before he walked up to a currently open shopkeeper. Naruto rung the bell on the counter and waited. He didn't have to wait long as a man came from the back and saw him.

"What can I do for ya kid?" he asked with a small smile. Naruto gave a thankful grin before speaking.

"Hi, I was wondering if you knew where umm…" Naruto looked at the paper Yue had written on. "Where the Dragon temple is? I'm new here so I don't really know,"

"Dragon Temple you say? Well its actually not far from here, just a few miles south. You are going to run into a forest. Keep going straight no matter what, once you leave the forest there will be a hill, beyond that hill will be the temple," The man explained kindly as Naruto wrote the directions down.

"Thanks mister!" Naruto thanked before he set off towards the temple. But before he left the port town, his stomach growled causing him to grunt a bit. "Guess we'll have to get some food huh girl?"

Akane merely yipped in agreement. Naruto hummed a bit, wondering what shop carried some food. It wasn't until his nose caught the familiar scents of both his favorite foods. Yellow tail, and Ramen!

"Yatta!" Naruto cheered as he rushed towards the bar. Naruto hopped onto a chair and rung the bell on the counter. A few moments later a young woman with light brown hair and a pretty face came from the back.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" The woman asked with a smile. Naruto finished looking at the menu and grinned at her.

"I would like three large bowls of your yellow tail supreme, and one medium bowl of yellow tail miso, please," Naruto ordered. The woman blinked before nodding with a smile and going to the back for his order to be fixed up.

Naruto sat in his chair, drooling with an eager expression. The different tasty smells of food made him very hungry, even Akane was whimpering out of hunger, pawing at his head.

It was ten minutes later when one bowl of the yellow tail supreme was set in front of him, along with Akane's serving. Both Naruto and Akane eyes turned to hearts as they gazed at the perfection that was ramen.

Giving a quick thank you prayer, both dug into their bowls. The waitress and chef watched in awe and a small bit of disgust as the boy and fox were scarfing down their food as if they hadn't eaten in weeks.

It took about five minutes or so before the boy finished his bowl and gave a sigh of temporary content. "That was good ttebayo!" the blond grinned, Akane gave a yip in agreement though she was still eating.

"Do you normally eat like that?" the woman asked with a raised brow. Naruto shook his head, scratching the back of it in a sheepish manner.

"Ne, gomen. It's just that I haven't had ramen in over a year and it's my favorite dish. I couldn't really contain my excitement when I smelled its delicious aroma, give my compliments to the chef!" Naruto said with a large smile.

"Why thank you!" a woman in her mid fifties or so said with her own grin, coming out the back just in time. Naruto lessened his smile and took in the appearance of the two women.

The waitress was clearly younger, as if in her early twenties or late teens. She had light brown hair, along with pretty jade green eyes not to mention a pretty face.

The chef resembled the girl a bit, making Naruto figure she was the mother. The woman had graying brown hair, but her eyes still shone brightly, the same green as her presumed daughter. Despite a few minor wrinkles, the woman was still considered pretty in Naruto's book.

"So kid, you new around here? Haven't seen you before," The chef stated, sliding his second bowl in front him. Naruto thanked her and started to eat, though much more slowly and relaxed.

"Yeah, I come from Hi no Kuni. My teacher sent me on this boat to find some new teachers in Oni no Kuni," Naruto answered before taking a fork full of noodles.

"Why would your teacher do that if they are supposed to teach you?" The young woman asked with a frown. Naruto gave a frown as well, stirring his bowl.

"Well, my original teacher dropped me off at this dojo so he could cover his tracks or whatever. He would be gone for two months. But the kids and the master of the dojo were complete jackasses. So the master kicked me out, and one of the teachers told me to find her teachers so I could be properly taught," Naruto explained as Akane gave a yip.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and this is my best friend Akane!" Naruto greeted with a grin, and Akane with a happy yip.

"I'm Rita and this is my daughter Misa," The chef returned with her own smile. Naruto nodded before taking another bite of his food.

"Well Rita-san, if I end up staying here for a long period, consider me a loyal customer!" Naruto boasted causing Rita to laugh heartily and Misa to smile.

* * *

"Yip Yip!"

"I think this is the place girl," Naruto muttered to Akane as they had finally found a way out of the forest after who knows how long. Akane sat on his head, alert to her surroundings.

After a few more minutes of walking, Naruto finally walked up the large hill and was standing atop of it. His eyes widened upon seeing what the hill was hiding.

It was a large temple that had plenty of space around it. Behind it was a flowing waterfall, there were a few koi ponds, along with plenty of fresh green grass and flower beds. The bridge that led to the entrance of the temple was a moat, which Naruto could catch glimpse of fish swimming in.

"Whoa," he voiced quietly before looking towards the setting sun. The boy had spent a couple of hours with Rita and Misa, getting to know them and such. And while he didn't regret doing that, he was bad on time.

He was already not sure if whoever in the temple would see him in the day time, now he was definitely positively not sure if same people would see him in the evening. Naruto took a deep breath and trudged on anyway.

When Naruto was finally close to the tall temple he glanced into the waters of the moat and saw that there was fish swimming in it. Humming to himself he glanced to the post before hopping on each rock that traveled across them moat so he could get to the entrance bridge.

Once he was safely across, Naruto crossed the bridge and stopped in front of the large door. Looking up, he saw the knobs that would knock on the door, but they were too high. So how was he supposed to get someone's attention with his small quiet knocks?

Thinking of no other way, Naruto balled his fist up, cocked it back and knocked on the door as hard as he could to make it loud. Taking his hand back, he waited.

And waited…

And waited…

….

….

And waited some more…

With an eye twitch Naruto was about to knock again when suddenly the door swung open before his knuckles could touch it. Naruto actually froze from the initial surprise from the opening door and the flux of power that followed.

"Well what do we have here?" a deep male voice rumbled. Naruto blinked, realizing he was staring at a pair of shins. So he looked up to see one of the most muscular people he has ever seen.

The man stood about 6'2 and looked somewhat elderly though he was a very well built man with a white beard and prayer beads around his neck. He was wearing a single sleeved, gray karate Gi and a sports a long white braid of hair adorned with a single prayer bead.

"Your huge," Naruto voiced, still in awe at the mans bulging muscles. The old man stroked his beard, a small smile on his lips.

"I guess so, what can I do for you young lad?" The man wondered, causing Naruto to snap out of his thoughts of how buff this dude was.

"O-oh yeah! Even though I'm probably right, this is the Dragon temple right?" his answer was a nod. "Well, um…" Naruto paused before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to calm himself.

He gave a respectful bow to the man and spoke, even Akane had bowed her head. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I humbly ask you to train me in the ways of combat," Naruto stated.

The elderly man continued to stroke his beard and gave a soft thoughtful hum, his brown eyes gazing down at the boy.

"What can you offer me that will make me and my associates want to teach you?" he wondered. Naruto was silent before speaking from the heart.

"An open mind," though he could not see it, a look of small surprise came across the man face. "I have money, but you all probably have plenty of that. As far as I know I am not of noble blood, so I can not bring you the benefits of training someone of such status," Naruto explained.

"But what I can give you, is an open mind. I am willing to learn anything you are willing to teach me, and give my very best efforts in learning," The blond finished.

It was silent for a good three minutes before chuckling came from the man. "For one so young, you sure know how to drop some kind of wisdom. Alright, Naruto Uzumaki, allow me to show you around so you can see for yourself if this is what you really want,"

Naruto was going to deny it and just say yes, but he bit his tongue. Despite Yue's recommendation to this place, it could be exactly like that stupid dojo. And he did not want to go through that again.

So he just nodded and followed the man inside the temple. As they walked through the halls, Naruto looked around to see decorated vases and such on pedestals. Hooking a right, the old man pushed open the door in front of him, allowing Naruto to see inside.

What he saw made him curious a bit. The room was obviously a training room, but this room was littered with weapons of all kinds. There were weapons on shelves, on racks, and on the floor.

But strangely enough there wasn't anyone around besides them. It wasn't until Akane pawed at his head that he looked up to see that there were several people fighting on the bases and pillars.

"This is the training room for students who take a liking to weaponry. The weapon master Tosai is in charge. There he is right there," the elder stated, nodding to a far pillar which a man stood on, wielding a chained sickle.

Naruto watched with close eyes as shuriken were thrown towards Tosai who easily dodged them, but he was forced to jump down when a large hammer was swung at him. Naruto raised a brow as the man hopped down and was now on the floor, spinning his weapon.

Suddenly three bodies dropped to the ground, feet first glaring at Tosai who had a smirk on his face. Naruto took note that the three were kids just a bit older than him, two boys and a girl. One boy held the giant hammer, another was wielding two axes and the girl had a ninjato.

It was the boy with the axes who charged first. Tosai swung the weighted side of his weapon at the boy who swung his right axe. Chain wrapped around the handle and the axe was yanked out of his hand.

The boy did not falter though as he continued to rush the weapon master. Tosai narrowed his eyes as the boy with the hammer appeared on the others shoulders and hopped of them, coming down upon the teacher, hammer cocked back.

Tosai flicked his wrist, causing the captured axe to go flying towards the falling boy. But before the axe could make it's mark, it was deflected by the girl, which caused a short distraction. Giving the axe boy enough time to close the distance between him and his master.

Tosai however dodged the swing and reacted with a knee to the gut before bringing down the sickle upon his students head, causing Naruto to take a step forward. But the sickle did not get far as it was parried by the ninjato.

"GRAH!" the boy with the hammer growled out as he swung down the hammer upon Tosai. However, it did not work. Instead of getting hit, Tosai had grabbed the girl by her neck, threw her against the kneeling boy then countered the swung hammer with a round kick, knocking it out of the others hand and finishing him off with a slap to the face from his weight.

The three students all tumbled to the ground, beaten and sore.

"Kai," The elder announced, earning the attention of everyone else. Tosai turned and the three kids immediately stood up, wincing in pain in the process.

"Master Gohan," the three students said in unison. The elder, Gohan nodded in acknowledgement before speaking.

"Interesting spar that was, you three seem to be making small improvements," Gohan smiled. The two boys gave small smirks while the girl looked on with a blank expression.

"Tosai, I would like to introduce you to Naruto Uzumaki. Lad, this is Master Tosai," Gohan introduced, which caused Naruto to bow to the man who gave a returning bow.

Tosai was a man in his early thirties with shaggy black hair and dark blue eyes. He was well fit, showing of his muscular arms and chest. He wore a blue and black sleeveless karate Gi, standing at 6'0.

"It is nice to meet you, Naruto Uzumaki. I assume Gohan-dono is giving you a tour of the temple?" Tosai figured, earning a nod from Naruto. Tosai smiled and gave a nod of his own before introducing his students.

"These are my students. Doji, Kojo and Shigure," Tosai introduced the three. Naruto looked at them, a hidden look of curiosity in his eyes.

Doji was the axe wielding boy. He had short cropped brown hair, with honey brown eyes. He looked about 12, standing at 5'4. He was wearing the same gi Tosai was wearing.

Kojo was the hammer wielding boy. He was a bit bigger than Doji in size, kind of reminding him of that Chouji kid from the academy. He had neck length brown hair with black eyes. He was wearing the same Gi, though the blue shirt was dark green. He looked around the same age as Doji.

Shigure was next and Naruto thought she was a pretty girl for her age. She has shoulder length raven hair which was tied back in a high pony tail, peach skin and light purple eyes. She was wearing a purple choker around her neck that contained numerous small pins. Her outfit was that of a dark purple kimono that would allow her to fight freely. She looked around his age, standing at 4'7.

"Are you interested in weapons, Naruto?" Tosai asked genuinely. Naruto hummed in thought before giving a shrug.

"I guess so. When Ero-sennin left me in that forest, I had to make my own weapon to survive," Naruto shrugged. Tosai and Gohan looked a bit confused to who Ero-sennin was until the name dawned on them. The kids however were still confused which was expected.

"Would you like to demonstrate your skills?" Tosai offered. Naruto looked a bit nervous before nodding. He walked over to the rack and picked a staff. Tosai snapped his fingers causing Doji to step forward, grabbing his own staff.

"Two hits," Tosai stated earning nods from both boys. Naruto watched as Akane hopped of his head and sat to the side to watch her master. "Hajime!"

"Grah!" Doji roared, charging at Naruto, swinging the staff a bit wildly. Tosai shook his head upon watching his student, but he was impressed as Naruto avoided every strike. Doji struck down, which Naruto blocked before he pivoted his foot and glided to his next step, smacking Doji's leg then his shoulder.

"Kai!" Tosai called, ending the match. Doji nursed his leg before giving a glare towards Naruto. Snapping his fingers again, Shigure stepped up this time, taking the staff from Doji. "Hajime!"

Both kids stood in one place, simply watching each other till Shigure sprung herself at Naruto. The blond was having difficulty dodging her blows since they were more accurate and precise. He had to block a few as well.

Akane yipped at him and Naruto gave a noticeable nod. Almost instantly, Naruto started to attack back, no longer avoiding. Swinging to the left, Shigure moved as she swung up but Naruto blocked it.

The two winced though when they both hit the others shoulder. Without missing a beat though, the two kids clashed with each other. Sticking to their ground the two were pushing against each other till Naruto lessened on the force he was giving.

This caused Shigure to lose her balance a bit, and Naruto to take the opportunity and sweep her off her feet by hitting her legs. Shigure fell on her back with a thud, a bit surprised.

"Kai," Tosai called as Naruto tossed the staff to his other hand and lent his free one to Shigure. "Well done Naruto, you have more skill than I thought," Tosai praised as Naruto helped Shigure up.

The girl gave a nod, "You're good," she said. Naruto grinned at her with his own nod.

"You were good too," Naruto returned, "We should spar again some time,"

"You're going to be a student here?" Doji questioned with a light scowl. Naruto gave him a look and just nodded before putting away his and Shigure's staff.

"I plan on it," was his verbal answer. "Thank you for your time Tosai-sama," Naruto bowed as Akane hopped on his head.

"It was my pleasure Naruto-san. Hopefully I will be seeing you a lot around here," Tosai smiled, giving a quick glance to the silent elder. Naruto nodded before he followed Gohan.

"Alright, time for some staff training,"

"You did well, lad," Gohan told Naruto as they left the room and continued down the hall. Naruto thanked him for the praise, glancing around the hall still.

"Gohan-sama, is this place really like a school?" Naruto asked. Gohan gave a shrug of the shoulders.

"Yes and no, it depends how you see it. While the masters here do take on students, they do not teach them…life related subjects unless it is in the lesson. There are some students here that actually attend the academy back in town and come here for combat training," Gohan explained.

"Then there are some students who actually live in the temple and train full time. However there aren't many of those students. Those students are deemed special cases and start to learn the advanced stuff as time goes on," Gohan explained. "Shigure is actually one of them,"

Naruto nodded in understanding before asking another question as they stopped in front of another door. "So does a student have to pay to live in the temple and train full time?"

"No. Those students are special cases as I said and are chosen by the three elders," Gohan explained as he opened the door revealing another training room, however there was only one person standing in the middle of the room.

It was a man who was dressed in ninja attire, wearing all black. However, even though Naruto could only see one person, he could feel about 4 others. He and Gohan watched for about two minutes before shuriken and kunai started flying at the man.

"That is Master Yusuke, he is basically the shinobi of the temple. He teaches stealth and how to end your opponent without making a scene. Basically, assassination," Gohan explained. "You won't be able to meet him right now, even though he has no full time students, his training is very time consuming and rigorous,"

Naruto nodded as he followed Gohan to the next teacher. "How many teachers are there?" Naruto wondered as they continued walking.

"Hmm," Gohan hummed in thought before stopping to give an answer. "Well, there is weapon, stealth, Ninjutsu, Genjutsu and martial combat," Gohan listed. "So there is seven teachers in the temple,"

"Seven teachers? And each student learns from each of them?" Gohan gave a chuckle at the question.

"Oh no, there isn't enough time for even the full time students to learn from every teacher. Two, maybe three, but all seven? No. We haven't had a student yet who was able to do it," Gohan informed. Naruto remained quiet before another questioned popped into his head.

"Wait, you said seven teachers, but you only came up with five subjects," the blond pointed out. Gohan nodded as they continued walking.

"Yes, there are a total of three teachers that teach Martial combat since there are different styles. These three teachers were able to take certain styles that they learned and teach those desired student that mix of styles," Gohan shrugged.

"What styles are those?" Naruto wondered causing Gohan to gave a small smirk and answer.

"There is brawler mix, which is basically styles that don't really focus on much on steps and ways to fight. There is genius mix, which is the opposite of brawler mix. This mix basically haves you learn about the human body so the user can take down their opponent in the smartest way possible. Last is the Wrath mix, it incorporates styles that work mostly off emotions and energy. Each mix is taught by each of the three elders," Gohan finished, stroking his beard.

"So you teach one of those mixes?" Naruto's answer was a nod. "Which one?" Naruto asked. Gohan gave a smile and told him he taught the Brawler mix, and only had two students.

Naruto was silent for most of the tour as he was shown the other two subjects of combat and met new people as well. The tour was almost over and the martial combat teachers were the last ones he needed to meet or whatever.

Gohan led him down a long hall and stopped at a door. Pushing the door open and moving to the side, Gohan allowed Naruto to look inside to see what was going on.

When Naruto did step in the larger than normal training dojo, he jumped a bit when a body crashed against the wall to the side of him. Looking at the body, it looked like some kind of ghoul. It's skin was black and shadow like, and funny enough disappeared a moment later.

"Kya!" his eyes turned back towards the center of the room where he saw a girl that looked the same exact age as him fighting a horde of those ghouls things. She was sending powerful looking kicks to the heads of the ghouls followed by punches to the stomachs.

Naruto wondered how she was able to reach so far with her kicks when the ghouls were way taller than her. His eyes narrowed as he watched her closely to see he was right, she was not reaching their face, not without jumping.

But somehow, whenever she did kick for the face, they still reacted as if she did.

"She is channeling ki into her attacks," Gohan spoke, earning Naruto's attention. "She is pushing the ki into her desired point and releasing it in just enough time for it to do damage," Gohan told him.

As the girl continued dodging, blocking and kicking, Gohan continued with his explanation. "Not only does it allow her to reach, but it increases the power behind the attack as well. It takes a certain level of concentration to pull it off in the midst of battle,"

"Guh!" the girl grunted as she received a hit to the stomach, but she reacted with an elbow to the gut, then a knee to the face by jumping up. Once she kneed her target, she continued with a spinning round kick, hitting two more ghouls.

But the leverage she had against the ghouls ended. All of them surrounded her completely, covering her form. Naruto's eyes widened and he was about to rush in to help but couldn't due to Gohan putting his hand on Naruto's shoulder, stopping him.

"Let her do this on her own," Gohan muttered, his eyes never leaving the horde.

Naruto and Akane watched anxiously as nothing was happening. The girl was surely dead or unconscious by now. But he was immensely surprised when purple beams of light started to peek through the horde before an explosion of purple aura took place.

All the ghouls went flying, revealing the girl that looked completely unharmed, an aura of purple blazing around her.

Naruto blinked to see that the ghouls started to dissipate into nothing and the girls aura started to fade.

"You got cocky, Juri," a deep rumbling voice stated. Naruto narrowed his eyes a bit as a man walked from the shadows of the room and towards the girl. The girl immediately kneeled in front of the man who was ignoring Gohan and Naruto for the time being.

"Master," the girl, Juri whispered. Her master gazed upon her for a few moments before speaking.

"Gohan is not the one you should be trying to impress, Juri," The man stated with a light scowl, causing her to flinch a bit. "You were doing just fine till he showed up, then I noticed you started to show off for him and the boy. It cost you, no dinner tonight till you prove to me otherwise,"

A noticeable frown came upon her lips but she bit her tongue. "Y-yes, Master,"

The man nodded before turning to Gohan and Naruto, though he gazed at Gohan directly. "You know how much I hate un-announced visits. What is it that you want?"

Gohan pursed his lips a bit before shaking his head and gesturing to Naruto. "I wanted this young one to see a piece of one of the martial combat mixes. Naruto Uzumaki, this is Master elder Gouki, and his pupil, Juri Han,"

Naruto gave a bow before taking in the features of both people. Gouki was a bit shorter than Gohan, standing at 5'10, however he was just as fit and muscular as Gohan. He has black hair which was pulled into a high traditional ponytail. He had tanned skin with dark crimson eyes. He wore a black Gi with prayer beads around his neck, he was barefooted as well.

The girl, Juri was the same height as Naruto with black hair that was styled into two horn like bangs tied by pink ribbons. She was wearing a black sports bra with white training pants, fingerless gloves and Taekwondo foot wraps. Naruto though, was a bit captivated by her purple eyes which returned his gaze.

"Master Gouki teaches the Wrath mix, Naruto," Gohan informed. The blond raised a brow before glancing to Juri then towards the stoic Gouki. "Do you know where Kara is?" Gohan asked the fellow elder.

"She left minutes ago with her students, if this is all you wanted…" Gouki turned away and gestured for Juri to follow him.

"I admire your style, Gouki-sama," Naruto called causing the man to halt in his tracks. "From the little I've seen of Juri-san do, it seems like a pretty effective style,"

Gohan started to stroke his beard while Gouki gazed back at the boy. Naruto closed his eyes taking a deep breath before he spoke to Gohan.

"Gohan-sama, I am positive that I want to learn here. More specifically, under Master Gouki, that is…" Naruto paused as he looked back towards said master, "If he'll have me,"

"I don't take part time students. Juri here is a full time student and she herself can tell you how rigorous and time consuming my training is," Gouki stated earning a nod from Juri.

"Master's training takes a total of 20 hours every day. Four hours of rest, and this is only if he allows you. He gives harsh training to me and another student, so we can participate in the upcoming World Tournament," Juri explained.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise at that, he knew of the world tournament, everyone who had a television had to know what the world tournament was. It was obviously a tournament held every two years for fighters to enter and fight each other to be titled the world champion and win a huge sum of money.

But not anyone could just enter the tournament; as there are preliminary tournament's that is branched by the World Tournament for the fighters. You must have a total of 15 wins to enter the World tournament.

Naruto pondered this information before turning to Gohan. "What must I do to become a full time student?" he demanded earning a surprised look from Juri and amused ones from the Masters.

"Well you must prove that you are worthy enough to become a full time student. Show us why one of our masters should even waste most of his time on you than his other students," Gohan explained.

Naruto looked down before Gouki spoke up. "If you can get two hits on Juri, I will deem you as a full time student and take you under my wing," Juri and Naruto looked at Gouki before looking at each other.

Nodding, Naruto untied his robe, setting to the side along with Akane. Rolling his shoulders, Naruto slid into a battle position as did Juri.

"If Juri is able to incapacitate you, you fail," Gouki stated. Naruto nodded, glaring at Juri. "Hajime,"

In a burst of speed, Naruto took off towards Juri with a cocked back fist.

'I have to win!'

* * *

**Alright that ends this chapter.**

**Come on guys, review...I'm really trying my best here not to bullshit through this story. It's a development kind of story ya know? I'm just trying to show his progress rather than make him leave then time skip he is this oh so powerful god like...12 year old...Nah, no more of that i left that shit at on my old profile.**

**Anyway, for those who don't understand the pairing, it's a harem. The i'm only listing three girls. That is Female Sasuke, Juri(Street fighter), and Shizune. There now you know, others will be revealed IN the story in due time.**

**So, later.**

**Bye.**


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